The Song That Goes Like This
by Jazzola
Summary: The Police Gala is coming up, and Alex wants to make Fenchurch's contribution stand out- but will Chris be able to keep his head screwed on? Will Alex be able to organise them all? And could Gene be SINGING? Galex! The Song That Goes Like This isn't mine.
1. The Police Gala

A/N: Just a crazy little idea I had! What I do for inspiration is I go up to my room, bounce my ball off the wall and wait for something to hit me, be it the ball or an idea. XD Anyway, this time it was an idea, and it was this. So, enjoy! And I did get hit by the ball actually, you have to suffer for literature. *nurses cheek* Please read and review! Jazzola :)

* * *

"'Ave you seen, ma'am? The Police Gala, it's next week!"

"The what?" Alex Drake asked, turning to her junior officer on her way to Gene Hunt's office, a look of slight confusion on her face. Shaz was holding up a poster with the words "POLICE GALA" written in big letters at the top, her face alight. "All departments 'ave to do it, ma'am, and so we've got to put an act together here, in CID!"

Shaz's voice carried through the horrified silence that had come over CID as soon as she had held up the poster. Chris was looking even more nervous than usual, and Ray was looking as though he would rather stick pins in his balls than take part in the Police Gala; a couple of the other DCs looked the same way, and one of them gulped rather loudly. Shaz was the only one looking happy about this.

"So?" Alex asked, turning to look at them. "We have to dress up for a night and go on stage, what's so bad about that? It could be fun." Ray looked at her incredulously, and Chris all but fled CID, muttering something about needing a piss.

"The Gala's for poofter nancies doin' impressions o' John Travolta an' Elvis, not for real police officers," Ray said scornfully, a couple of the DCs joining in with him and nodding. Alex put her hands on her hips, a stubborn look coming over her face.

"Then why don't we do something different, set a new trend? What's the normal thing?"

"Wha' I said, a John T impression or Elvis or a short play, like a tragedy or somethin'," Ray said in mild disgust. Alex tilted her head to one side.

"Well… I have an idea. Who sings in here? Anyone got a good singing voice? I have, I won several medals in my youth. I would have gone into professional singing had I not trained as a psychologist."

The officers exchanged glances.

"You could ask the Guv if you're brave enough," Ray shrugged, inclining his head towards Gene's office, where his senior officer was slugging back a glass of scotch and lighting a cigarette, oblivious to the discussion outside and instead engrossed in doodling. Alex looked surprised.

"The Guv?"

"Strong tenor," Ray grinned. "Met up wi' 'is mum back in Manchester, when 'e was carin' for 'er an' I brought some reports round. Church choir an' everything!"

Shaz's jaw could have dislocated at the angle it was at. Alex simply grinned.

"Who'll persuade him to go on stage?"

"It would take a lot more than a fruitcake DI an' a bunch o' poofters to get me on that stage, Lady Bolls."

Alex swerved round. Gene was standing there, arms crossed and a displeased look on his face.

"An' for the record, I was thrown outta that choir for "disorderly conduct", Raymondo. Got into a fight durin' the Christmas show, knocked out a couple o' boys an' the choir master, wrecked 'is chances o' 'avin' kids certainly."

"Good King Wenceslas would've been turning in his grave," Alex muttered to herself as a ripple of laughter coursed through CID.

"My point is, you're not gettin' me on a stage unless it's for a medal or somethin'."

Alex sat back, thinking hard.

"Well… actually, Guv, I have an idea."

"Oh, bloody hell. God save us all. Bollinger-Knickers on rampage with crazy ideas, run for your lives!"

"No wonder you were kicked out of the church choir with that kind of talk. You don't have to go on stage. All you have to do is stay behind the scenes and sing."

Gene looked unconvinced. Shaz and Ray exchanged confused glances.

"Then who'll be on stage, ma'am?" Shaz asked, frowning.

"You. You'll be on stage, but someone else will be with you. Since normally the mood is quite severe at these Galas, very serious and sombre, we're going to do a comedy. Make us stand out, make people think ours was the best act."

At the word "comedy", several ears pricked up. "Comedy" to those in CID meant Laurel and Hardy, hopefully with a slightly sexual side to allow for a bit of perving at Shaz.

"I've got a musical that would be perfect! Spamalot."

"Spam wha'?" Ray asked, his expression unimpressed at the prospect of acting out a musical with Spam in the name.

"It's a funny take on Camelot, you know, the Knights of the Round Table and King Arthur. One of the songs has a woman and a man singing. We'll do that one, but instead of having a man on stage singing, we have the Guv behind the stage and we have a woman mouthing along to his singing. It's a comedy anyway, so it'll make it brilliant. We can have a woman singing along to a man's voice, and thus the parts will be swapped over but the characters will still maintain their personas, the big strong knight in shining armour and the damsel in distress. It'll just add to the comedy. I'll find a VHS or something of it and show you."

Gene shook his head.

"No."

Alex turned to him with a frown on her face. Most of the CID boys were already looking happy about this, since it only involved four people and Alex and Shaz had already volunteered, plus they knew Chris would do anything Shaz asked him to do.

"Why not?"

"They'll recognise my accent, they'll know it was me singing an' that'll be just as bad as if it was me prancin' around in front of 'em."

This was really quite insightful for Gene Hunt, and Alex's eyebrows rose at each word.

"Well… I don't know, Gene. Couldn't you fake an accent?"

Gene sighed inwardly.

"Why can't one o' the other boys do this?"

"Ray's singing voice I've heard, he could deafen a cat-" Ray looked mortally offended- "and Chris I think will want to be on stage with Shaz. The DCs won't cut the mustard; you've been properly trained in singing, you'll blow them away."

Gene was about to start moaning again when Alex cut him off.

"And we'll be able to slouch off early to rehearse for it. We can go back to my place, so it'll just be us. Nobody else."

To an onlooker, it would have seemed that Alex was simply trying to preserve Gene's reputation by saying this, but Gene had caught the look in her eyes and knew there was a double meaning to her words. Besides, private time with his DI didn't seem like such a bad thing to him. He reluctantly agreed.

"OK, that's settled. The rest of you can track down some costumes for Chris and Shaz, and some microphones and such for Gene and me. Oh, and can somebody get a VHS of Spamalot sharpish?"

Being police officers, this was right up the street of the DCs and they got onto it immediately, just thankful that it wouldn't be them on stage.

Chris returned from the toilet just as Ray wondered aloud what size costume to get him, a wicked grin covering his face as he saw Chris walk over with a confused look on his face.

"Ray, what's goin' on?"

With the grin still plastered over his face, Ray stood up and steered a bamboozled Chris over to the equipment room, grabbing a tape measure on his way out, much to the amusement of the rest of CID.

* * *

A/N: So, what do people think of this so far? Do you like it? Please drop me a review and tell me if you do! Next chapter will be Gene and Alex's first rehearsal! Review or I will send the entire of CID round after a long night in Luigi's. You have been warned! XD Jazzola :)


	2. Rehearsals

"This had better be good, Bolls."

Gene and Alex were seated on Alex's sofa, wine glasses resting on the table and a cigarette butt gently smoking in the ashtray as Alex slotted the VHS into her video player and fast-forwarded. Gene's lips twitched at several of the acts that came before The Song That Goes Like This and his eyes widened at some of the women, which didn't go unnoticed by Alex, who slapped his knee and stopped the video.

"I've got the words here," she told him, handing him a notepad and starting the video. The words echoed through the lounge, and Alex chanced a look at her DCI; he was engrossed in the screen, his lips moving slightly along to the words, his mind remembering the process of learning a song. The song brought back memories for her, of going to a Broadway production of Spamalot with Molly for her birthday and having dinner in TGI Friday's afterwards, and she sniffed back tears and stopped the VHS as the song finished.

"I know the song, but I don't think I'll be able to go as deep as you, I'm a soprano. I trust you know what that means, Mr Tenor Hunt?"

He rolled his eyes at her.

"I'm not stupid, Bolls."

"Could've fooled me," she teased gently, grabbing his arm and standing him up. "OK. First bit is yours: _Once in every show, there comes a song like this, it starts out soft and low and ends up with a kiss. Oh where is the song that goes like this? _We'll omit the bit after that, you can just sing that bit and Chris can say the bit after that."

Gene looked down at the pad in his hand, his eyebrows drawing together.

"You sure this is a good idea, Bolly?"

"I went to see the Super, and there's a prize for the best entry, Gene. I persuaded him to make it several kilos of alcohol, so if you want to get more pissed than ever before in your life for doing something that comes naturally to you then concentrate on this. It's not like anyone will know it was you, it could have been any one of the CID lads; we could even put out that it was Ray or something, if you're really that worried about it."

At the mention of the word "alcohol", Gene's eyes had lit up; Alex doubted he had even heard the rest of what she had said. His eyes now narrowed and went in for the kill as he licked his lips and cleared his throat, preparing to use the tenor voice he had neglected for years.

"Once in every show, there comes a song like this, it starts out soft an' low an' ends up wi' a kiss, oh where is the song tha' goes like this?"

Alex had to admit, he wasn't bad. His voice was rough after the abuse it had endured from his alcohol and nicotine intakes, but it was strong, ebbing and flowing in the right places, and just from the notes she could tell it would compliment her own voice perfectly. The Manchester accent wasn't hidden, though, and she could tell that was done on purpose.

"Weren't you going to disguise your accent?" she asked him, not hiding her confusion.

"Was until you said we were goin' to say Ray was singin'. No point now, is there?"

Apparently he had heard her, then. Alex nodded at his logic and studied the next part, remembering how the tune went and beginning to sing it to herself.

"A sentimental song that casts a magic spell, they all will hum along, we'll overact like hell. Oh, this is that song that goes like this."

Gene nodded approvingly, his mind still on the prize Alex had promised and already beginning to make up excuses to get other members of CID out of the room so he could bag most of the stuff for himself.

The rest of the song went according to plan, Alex winding the video forwards and back so Gene could hear the tune and adding in when it was necessary. She began enjoying herself, a lot; just sat up here with her DCI, singing away to a song that she remembered well and was dear to her, seemed a good way to spend her evenings. The bottle of Luigi's "house rubbish" on the counter was steadily emptied as the evening wore on, and gradually the notes got less and less steady, until eventually they were too inebriated to carry on and Gene walked down to the Quattro, surprisingly still able to stand upright.

Well, he seemed so until he stumbled and fell against the door, collapsing into the road and swearing repeatedly under his breath as he tried and failed to get up.

Luigi, watching from his window, sighed, shook his head and called up to Alex.

"Signorina Drake, perhaps Signor Hunt could sleep on your sofa for tonight, yes? He is too drunk to drive."

"I'm fine, Luigi," Gene muttered, finally getting up and slotting the keys into the door of the Quattro. A hand forced them out and held them out of his reach as a voice whispered in his ear.

"It's too late and you're too drunk, Gene. You can sleep in the lounge for tonight, I've got a spare suit of yours in my wardrobe. Come on, see sense, you can't possibly make it all the way over to the other side of town without crashing in the state you're in."

"The Gene Genie doesn't get drunk, Bolls," Gene muttered, trying to push himself forwards to grab the keys and only succeeding in stumbling again on the kerb. Alex frowned at him and he sighed.

"For one night only, Bolls. And don't go takin' advantage o' me while I'm asleep."

Alex rolled her eyes at him, but couldn't ignore the little flutter in her stomach as he walked back up the steps to her flat and let himself in. Bringing herself back to her senses as the door slammed, she realised that the Quattro was unlocked and she had the keys in her hand.

"Dream on, Alex, it's never going to happen," she muttered to herself, locking the gleaming car and following Gene's footsteps into her lounge where he was already bedding down on the sofa, his snakeskin boots next to her high heels on the shoe rack and his suit jacket draped over the end of the sofa. For the first time she noticed how long his legs seemed in those trousers, and her breath caught in her throat at the sight of his feet encased only in black socks, his toes surprisingly long and delicate, the instep an elegant curve and one hole showing the paleness of the skin.

"Bolly?"

Gene's voice brought her back to earth, and she looked up at his face and shook herself mentally.

"Yes, I'll just be going to bed."

Gene nodded.

"One more thin'."

"Yes?"

"Why've you got one o' my suits in your wardrobe?"

"Oh, it was the one you were wearing when you cut your head on some glass and got covered in blood during that chase, remember? The launderette delivered it to me, since you weren't in when she took it to yours. I paid her to deliver it, and gave my address as the secondary one."

Gene nodded, remembering the case and Alex taking his suit down to the launderette after bandaging him up in the Quattro.

"I owe you that money," he muttered, his normally hidden chivalry coming through as he felt a little guilty about it. Alex shook her head.

"I was the one who told you to go through the window in the first place."

"Fine. Got any more scotch?" Gene enquired sleepily, his eyes beginning to close but glinting at the thought of more whisky. Alex rolled her eyes at him and closed the blinds, heading through to her bedroom.

"Get some sleep, or you'll be exhausted tomorrow in CID," Alex called back as she closed her bedroom door firmly and stripped off, getting into her bedshirt and sliding under her duvet, the sound of Gene turning over to get comfortable on her sofa accompanying her to blissful slumber.

* * *

The alarm going off the next day failed to wake someone up, Alex noted dryly as she walked out of her bathroom to find Gene still slumped on the sofa fast asleep. Walking over, she smiled to herself at the spectacle, wondering how many people had ever seen the Manc Lion so relaxed before and feeling glad that he trusted her enough to crash in her flat. His eyes were lightly closed, a shadow on his jaw and upper lip making him look ruggedly handsome, more attractive than Alex had expected any man to look after seven hours' sleep on a sofa certainly. One hand rested delicately on his stomach; the other had fallen off the edge of the sofa and was pressed against the carpet by the weight of his arm. Alex's breath caught in the back of her throat, and she paused to compose herself before walking over and shaking his shoulder gently.

"Gene? Gene?"

"Urghh…" Gene muttered, slowly coming to and receiving an eyeful of Alex Drake as he woke up. "Mornin', Bolls…"

"What does it take to wake you up?" Alex laughed, pulling the blanket off her DCI's sleeping form and yanking the pillow from under his golden, leonine head to wake him further. Gene moaned and tried to grab them back, reminding Alex of Molly on school mornings as he sleepily buried his head back into the fabric of the sofa and closed his eyes again. Alex leaned right down and whispered in his ear.

"If you get up now, I might mysteriously find a couple of bottles of scotch I was keeping for you up here."

Gene groaned again and pushed himself up, giving Alex a glorious view of partially undone shirt and toned, surprisingly muscular chest underneath it. Drawing her breath in sharply, Alex had to hurry to the kitchen and make herself breakfast before she did something she would regret.

Just as she put her bowl in the sink, resolving to tackle the washing-up later, Gene came back through, not yet clean-shaven but with his damp blond hair brushed back as usual and his clothes smart, although his tie was slung carelessly round his neck, the knot as of yet undone. Alex averted her eyes from the shadow on his face.

"You need a shave."

"Go' the stuff in my office, I'll do it there."

Remembering what Sam had said so long ago about Gene almost living in his office, Alex smirked to herself and nodded, glugging back the last of her orange juice and watching as Gene took a slug of whisky and shoved his hip-flask back into his pocket.

"That stuff'll kill you, you know."

"So will everythin' else I do, accordin' to you. Come on, we'll be late."

"Rich coming from you," Alex muttered, grabbing her jacket and heading to the door after him, just in time to hear his comment: "Daft bloody sopranos."

* * *

A/N: I hope people got that last joke- if you're into music you'll know about the "dumb sopranos" bit. Hope it hasn't stumped people! *chews lip anxiously* Please review, and I'll get the next parts up ASAHP! Jazzola :)


	3. The Performance

The night before the performance had arrived, and Fenchurch East CID was filled with, not cigarette smoke and chatter as usual, but music from Spamalot and the sound of people laughing and watching Chris make a complete fool of himself on stage, which, being a natural at it, wasn't hard. Gene was watching over his kingdom as usual, allowing himself to grin occasionally at Chris's attempts at being the chivalrous knight, and Alex was perched on the side of his desk, watching as well and occasionally calling out to Chris and Shaz with her instructions, assuming her roles as director and joint lead singer.

"This is such 'ard work," Chris sighed, mopping at his brow as Shaz mimed along to one of Gene's lines, her mouth moving to the lines coming from the VCR rather than Gene's voice but only for the rehearsals. Her long green dress flowed to around her ankles, showing a generous amount of cleavage on top; everyone had been surprised at what a difference the uplifting bra she and Alex had chosen a couple of days ago in a specialist lingerie shop had made. Certainly Ray had been a lot more pleasant to her, but that might also have been the fact that Alex had threatened to put him up on the stage himself if he didn't quit with the comments and give her a little respect for "having the balls to get up there and do it", which may not have been the best phrase but did the trick.

"Of course it is, Chris," Alex replied quietly as the knight stumbled into Gene's office and leaned against the desk, trying to get his balance in the knight suit. Gene stifled laughter and Alex re-adjusted the shoes to make him more like Sir Lancelot and a little less like Sir Clumsyalot, since he had to pick Shaz up at one point. If he dropped her, yes, it would add to the comedy, but it wouldn't help things in Chris and Shaz's relationship at all.

"Don' see why one o' the others could be doin' this instead o' me, Guv, I'm terrible at this," Chris muttered, and Gene shook his head.

"You're doin' fine, Wonder Chris. It's meant to be comedy!"

Alex snorted at his comment, which didn't seem to put Chris at ease but did amuse the listening members of CID.

"Don't worry, Chris. Despite your Guv's very encouraging comments-" she gave Gene a glare that would melt metal, but failed to melt the Gene Genie- "you are doing absolutely fine, following the script to a T and really putting vigour into your performance. I'm really impressed."

Chris looked mollified and returned to the "stage area" set up in CID to rehearse his bit with catching Shaz as she called to him.

"Give him some credit, he's got the balls to do it," Alex murmured to Gene as they watched him catch Shaz properly for the first time and then lose his hold on her, which was incredibly funny for some reason to the watching DCs. "Better than you, Guv."

Gene snorted. "I'm no' the sort 'oo goes around playin' silly buggers, Bolly."

Alex rolled her eyes at him, but didn't pursue her point further, knowing if she did he would refuse to sing. He was just a little grouchy and snippy due to the fact that Alex had banned him from smoking on the day of the performance, and although that day was tomorrow Gene was already being annoying and chain-smoking like a chimney.

"Cheer up, Gene. The performance will win for sure. Everyone else is doing the norm, not bothering to branch out, and we're doing something everyone will love. This time tomorrow you'll be about to get more pissed than ever before in your life, so suck it up, Gene. We've got a brilliant act, and they're doing this for us."

"Ma'am…" Shaz called just as she finished her tirade, peering into the office uncertainly. "Ma'am, I think the straps have come undone…"

CID were in no doubt as to what Shaz was talking about with that sentence, and the office was filled with howling laughter as Shaz gave multiple V signs at certain people and rushed out with both hands holding her cleavage up and one of Alex's hands on her back, her other busy dishing out signs she would never have given out at work in 2008. Gene stifled a grin at the ridiculous sight of his foul-handed WPC and DI and yelled at the people clustered round to fast-forward it to Chris's lines and see how he fared without Shaz.

He did well until the finale, which was when he was meant to pick up the papier-mâché sword rented for him and hold it aloft as Shaz clung to him like some kind of green-dress-covered spider; dropping both the sword and the prop substituting for Shaz didn't bode well for the performance.

"Swap 'ands, you div," Ray groaned, laughing along with the others but inside beginning to wonder if Elvis would have been more appropriate after all.

Watching from the equipment room window, Shaz sighed heartily and watched as her boyfriend picked up the sword again and tried the manoeuvre again, only to drop the sword's metal hilt on his foot. CID, being the sympathetic group of people they were, burst out laughing with fresh vigour at the sight of Chris hopping around on one foot and revealing quite an extensive vocabulary of swear words.

"I swear, ma'am, if 'e drops me on show night I'm gonna slap 'im right there, on stage," Shaz sighed, waiting patiently as Alex re-adjusted the straps and watching Chris's attempts at the finale. "You 'aven't got a fat suit I could wear, just in case?"

Alex laughed, but an idea had popped into her head with Shaz's words and she reached over to grab a cushion from one of the shelves, tucking it under the bum of Shaz's dress and rearranging it to look natural.

"There you go, padding! Just remember to angle yourself if Chris drops you, and you'll fall onto the cushion."

"Ma'am, you're a star!" Shaz grinned, reaching up to give her senior officer a hug and walking back out to resume rehearsals. At least it was a quiet day in the office, so they could get on with the rehearsals instead of having to run out on calls all the time.

Alex's smart idea paid off instantly; Shaz tripped on the papier-mâché sword that Chris had left on the floor.

"This is going to be a very interesting performance…" Alex murmured to herself, going back into Gene's office and snatching his fifth cigarette in the hour from his fingertips and stubbing it out herself.

* * *

Performance night had come, and with it, CID had arranged themselves in the audience or behind stage, waiting patiently to watch Fenchurch West's contribution to the Gala, which they had found out from one of the DCs there was to be the goriest scene of Richard III. The special effects were already backstage, leaving Gene in little doubt that his department would outshine them; the blood was ketchup, and the gore was a mixture of custard and red food colouring. Stubbing his forbidden cigarette out on the custard and dropping the butt into the tub to give Fenchurch West a nice little surprise (as well as cover his tracks), Gene walked over to where his own department was getting ready and Chris was being suited up and Shaz was checking her lines one more time.

"You ready, you two?"

Chris gulped, his face looking as though he would rather mud-wrestle with an angry bear than go onto the stage, but Shaz nodded and smiled.

"We'll do you proud, Guv."

"Don't doubt you will wi' that cleavage, Granger; now I know 'ow DI Bolly-Knickers out there does it!"

"Don't push your luck, Gene," Alex said dryly from behind him, holding out a microphone for him to take. Gene shoved it in his pocket and sighed as Chris fell over trying to do up his straps on his legs.

"For Christ's sake, Wonder Chris, you sit down or you fall over doin' the straps!"

Gene walked over and hoisted Chris up, plonking him down on a chair and watching as Chris found the straps a whole lot easier with his legs off the floor.

"Thanks, Guv."

"Just don't le' us down or you're buyin' me scotch for a month."

Alex rolled her eyes at her DCI and headed out with him to watch Fenchurch West's interpretation of Shakespeare, which seemed to involve a lot more swear-words than the original and at one point showed the main actor with a cigarette butt stuck to his head with custard, much to the amusement of the audience. Alex snuck a look at Gene, her eyes narrowing, but Gene was looking towards the stage with a self-satisfied smirk hidden behind his stony outer expression. Alex, recognising it, shook her head at him and went back to watching, thinking, _I knew he wouldn't really do the whole cigarette ban…_

"And that was Fenchurch West's interpretation of Richard III, I hope you enjoyed it!" the person doing the announcements yelled from the side of the stage. "Now can we have Fenchurch East readying theirs, please?"

Gene stood up abruptly and stalked round backstage in a swish of long coat, Alex following him and readying her microphone.

"Are we all ready?" she asked, looking round at the crew. Shaz nodded, her eyes alight, but Chris shook his head, gulping.

"You'll be fine, Chris," Alex said reassuringly, putting her hand on his arm and giving him a calming smile. Shaz leaned forwards and gave him a kiss for good luck, wrapping her arms round him with a "don't worry, baby, you'll be great!" Chris hugged her back and stood up slowly, making his way onto the stage as the music started up, deliberately made too early by Ray, who was looking forward to watching Chris muck it up.

"You ready?" Alex whispered to Gene, a little time bought for them by Ray pressing the wrong button on the machine. Looking round at him, she was surprised to see him looking away, his hand shaking a tiny amount as he held the microphone up to his mouth.

"Gene?"

He looked round at her, and Alex realised what was wrong.

"You've got stage fright?"

Embarrassed, Gene nodded, not expecting what happened next: Alex leaned over and put her arms round him, reassuring him as she had done for Chris but being closer than she had with him, smoothing her hand over the small of Gene's back and pressing her lips to his cheek.

"You better now?"

Gene nodded again, almost unable to believe what had just happened, and Alex grinned at him and detached herself, opening her mouth as the first lines of music came but tucking her hand in his as she started:

"Once in every show, there comes a song like this, it starts out soft and low and ends up with a kiss, oh where is the song that goes like this?"

The audience were howling with laughter, and peeking through the curtains, Alex could see that Chris was getting stuck in, waving his arms about and grinning goofily at the audience, the lip-syncing obvious but only adding to the comedy appeal. Gene took a deep breath and let his voice rumble out, deep and well-tuned and a perfect fit to Alex's light, trilling notes:

"A sentimental song that casts a magic spell, they all will hum along, we'll overact like hell, oh this is that song that goes like this."

For the first time, the Manchester accent was hidden, but Alex had guessed he might do that; it made the excuses a bit easier, anyway. Shaz looked ridiculous mouthing along to Gene's tenor voice, and the scene was comedy gold to those watching at the Gala- a young WPC mouthing to someone's male voice, and the goofy DC singing to a woman's airy voice. When it came to the finale, a couple of people had started choking due to laughing too hard, and Chris did drop Shaz but carefully, half-lowering her so that she landed comfortably on the cushion protecting her rear end. The act was clearly a success with the likes of the Metropolitan Police, anyway, even if Gene abruptly closed the curtain on the recovering Chris and Shaz as there were calls for an encore.

Alex turned and watched Gene as he stood, her hand still in his, as it had been for the whole performance, watching Shaz and Chris taking a bow on stage, and couldn't really help what happened next.

She reached up and kissed him full on the lips.

Gene, taken by surprise, didn't respond for a second, but when his wits had come back to him he pressed his lips to hers as well, closing his eyes as she closed hers, and putting his arm round her as the kiss grew more fiery and more passionate, becoming less of a "well done" kiss and more of a romantic kiss.

They only broke apart when Chris and Shaz were given a heroine and hero's welcome backstage by the rest of the crew, Ray failing to mention that it was him who started the music off early and nearly gave Chris a heart attack. Shaz bounded over to Alex and thanked her once again for the cushion, adding that Chris had been very careful when he dropped her and rushing over to hug Gene as well, getting a little over-excited in the moment.

"You were great, Guv!"

"I'm a man o' many talents, me," Gene replied with his usual cockiness, making Shaz laugh as she ran back to Chris and pressed her lips to his, drawing wolf-whistles from the others but nobody knowing that only seconds before it had been Gene and Alex doing that self same thing just seconds before.

Alex barely noticed the rest of the Gala; she was too immersed in the feel of Gene's hand privately in hers, hidden in the folds of his coat but still there, and the feel of his leg gently brushing hers as he leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Can I 'ave a cigarette now?"

Laughing, Alex nodded and watched as he lit one and took a long drag, his hands once again steady. An unbidden thought crept into her head suddenly: _he looks so handsome when he's nervous…_

Sighing at herself, Alex sat back and concentrated on the feel of her DCI's skin against hers and his warm palm pressed against her one, celebrating with the rest of her department as the announcement that they had won was made.

"Back to CID, Bolls," Gene called to her over the hubbub of people getting up and going out, some still calling for an encore of the "funny knight act" and others already planning how pissed they were going to get. Funnily enough, the victorious Fenchurch CID were included in that second group.

"Hang on, Gene, wait for me!" Alex called ahead, hurrying forwards in her high heels and marching into CID to the sight of the promised mound of alcohol and her department licking their lips and getting stuck into the beer. Gene marched straight up and grabbed a king-size bottle of scotch, his eyebrows travelling up his forehead as she took her time picking out the wine and walked over to his office, perching on the side of the desk as usual and filling a wine glass with dark red liquid.

"Cheers, King Arthur," she jokingly toasted, holding her glass aloft and being treated to a rare smile from Gene as he clinked his tumbler against it.

"Cheers to you too, Lady o' the bloody Lake."

And both drank.

Probably a bit too much…

* * *

A/N: And there you go! I didn't want to leave you hanging so I got up at 6 specially for you lot, hope you're grateful ;) Please review, I won't get them for a couple of weeks but they really, really are appreciated! I could've had two more hours of sleep, people, give me some love ;P Hope you enjoyed it, I loved writing it! Virtual chocolate for every reviewer and a girl's gratitude! Jazzola :)


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